Whiskey Christmas
by shipinharbor
Summary: A cancelled flight, a glass of whiskey, and a green-eyed stranger might make Annabeth's Christmas the best one yet. AU. One-shot.


**merry christmas! here's a little one-shot to celebrate the season. AU.**

 **disclaimer: im not rick riordan, so i don't own anything.**

 _Whiskey Christmas_

Okay, Annabeth didn't hate Christmas.

In fact, she enjoyed the decorations and the songs and the scented candles. What she didn't like was the madness that came with Christmas: the horrendous shopping lines, the hostile sale-seeking crowds, and most of all - the canceled flights.

Annabeth cursed the falling snow as she sat in the airport, the ticket for her cancelled flight in hand. It was Christmas Eve _Eve_ and her red-eye flight had been rescheduled for the next day. She hadn't decided whether to book a hotel room or tough it out, so in the meantime she sat amongst obnoxious families while 'White Christmas' played overhead. Despite it being one of her favorite songs, the snow-filled Christmas the song is about was really the last thing she needed. What she needed was to board her flight to San Francisco and spend the holidays with her father and step-family.

Grabbing her knapsack, she figured she should head over to the hotel by the airport and see if they had any available rooms. As she passed through the bustling airport, she passed by a small bar. Annabeth wasn't much of a drinker, with the exception of a glass of wine when Piper or Thalia came over. But today _sucked,_ so she decided the least she deserved was a liquid cushion for her troubles.

The bartender smiled at her approaching figure. "What can I get for you?"

"Just a glass of whiskey please?" she requested before taking a seat.

"Any preference?"

She shook her head no. The bartender dug underneath the counter and pulled out a bottle half-full of amber liquid. "You seem like you need something strong. Here's the best we have."

She thanked him with a warm smile and sipped her tumbler. It really was strong, with aa heavy, oaky taste that burned her throat a little. Taking in her surroundings, she noticed the bar was fairly unpopulated, save for a black-haired man a couple stools down. As if on cue, he looked up from the drink he was nursing and caught her analyzing him. She gave a small smile and lifted her glass to her lips. He raised an eyebrow and charmingly grinned at her drink of choice.

It was very unlike Annabeth to flirt (verbally or nonverbally), and with strangers no less. But he was devastatingly handsome, and she might as well enjoy the fairly dull evening.

"Bad travelling situation?" she inquired as she sidled into the stool next to him.

He turned to look at her, and she finally got a close view of his face. He had nice cheekbones and pinkish lips and enviable sea-green eyes framed by long lashes. He broke out into a heart-skipping smile. "By the looks of it, you're in the same boat."

She nodded. "Mother Nature decided to post-pone my flight to San Francisco. I'm visiting family."

He gave her a sympathetic look. "My girlfriend and I were going on a trip, but we broke up right before they told us the flight was canceled."

Annabeth's mouth fell slightly open and she slightly shifted away on her stool. Flirting, sure. But being a rebound? No thank you.

As if sensing her immediate withdrawal, he smiled. "There's no unresolved feelings. It'd been apparent for a long time that we were just meant to be friends."

"So what are you going to do for the holidays?" she asked, swirling her glass around. The amber liquid sloshed around and emitted a powerful aroma.

"I dunno, actually. Wait - I don't even know your name?" he said, bemused.

Annabeth bit her lip. "Why don't we keep it that way, so you can forget me and this encounter soon enough?"

He shook his head earnestly. "I don't think I could ever forget you," he said, without any indication of flirtation or flattery. Still, a part of her swooned at the genuineness of his words.

"Me either," she whispered with a small smile. His eyes fell to her curved lips and rested her for a moment before flitting back up to her eyes. She felt her heart rate pick up.

"Tell me a funny story," she randomly blurted. He blinked at her words.

"I, uh, I'm not sure. I can't think of any..." he stuttered before falling into thought. "Oh, I've got one! So when I was young, like seventh grade, I went to the beach with my cousins. Let me tell you, I loved the beach - still do. As soon as we got there, I launched myself straight toward the water, but snagged my foot on a piece of seaweed and tumbled into a large pile of it. When I stood up, I had kelp draped all over my head. Thalia still calls me 'Kelp Head' to this very day."

Annabeth broke out into a fit of laughter before piecing together the story.

 _Kelp Head? Thalia? Wait a second..._

"You're Kelp Head? You're Thalia Grace's cousin? Percy?" she said in disbelief.

Percy's eyes widened. "You _know_ me? You _know_ Thalia?"

"Thalia is one of my closest friends. She always mentions her cousin Percy," she jabbed a finger at his chest. "She also refers to him as Kelp Head."

Realization dawned on Percy's face. "And you're her smart blonde friend she always talks about. Annabeth?"

She nodded. "So much for staying strangers."

"Small world."

To that, they both lifted their glasses and drank.

A few more disbelieving laughs and nick-name references later, Percy turned to Annabeth. "When do you think you'll be able to head over to San Francisco?"

She turned to look outside the window. "Tomorrow, maybe. It'll be Christmas Eve," she said with a nonchalant shrug.

"You don't seem too sorry," he said, raising an eyebrow.

She bit her lip again. "It's just...I've never been too close with my father and his 'new' family, I guess. My step-brothers are sweet, and my step-mother is friendly. But I think my presence is kind of a reminder of the life my father had before them. The one he left behind."

He made a noise of understanding.

"Spending Christmas there feels more like a habit than anything else. I never spend it with my mother, because she's so involved with her work that she hardly even acknowledges the holiday."

Percy looked up from his drink, his black hair tousled. They both hadn't gone past their first drink, the enjoyment of each other's company far more entertaining than the liquor itself.

His green eyes met her gray ones. "Why don't you just not go, then? You shouldn't feel obligated to. Stay in the city, be with your friends. You know, enjoy Christmas with people you want to be around."

She immediately searched for some excuse or justification for going to San Francisco. But truthfully, she couldn't think of one. Why should she spend the holidays with people who wouldn't even seem to mind if she was gone?

"You're right," she said, sliding off her stool and standing up. He quickly paid for their drinks and held up a hand when she tried to protest. "I should be with people I actually like."

Then she held out her hand to him. He looked at it, puzzled, before laughing - a truly glorious sound. "Am I supposed to shake it, or...?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, dimwit. Come with me."

He broke out into a beautiful smile before taking her hand and standing up. She couldn't help but think about how seamlessly their hands melded together as they walked through the gradually quieting airport and out the doors.

She stopped as they stood on the pavement, the cold air sharp against their skin. "Well I didn't really plan this out. What do we do?"

"I'll go where you go, Annabeth," he chuckled. She decided she'd never loved the sound of her name more.

"Good," she breathed, turning to look at his dimly-lit face before grabbing his scarf and pulling him down to her lips. Part of her screamed at her completely irrational forwardness, but it was drowned out by the sudden movement of Percy kissing her back. It spread warmth throughout her body and she shivered, fully aware that it was not from the cold. As her arms went around his neck and his around her waist, she decided that this was the best kiss of her life. She felt chills and sparks and his soft lips and he tasted like liquor and something sweet.

He pulled away for a moment and whispered, "Christmas came early this year." She laughed and smacked his arm for his utter cheesiness before pulling him back once again.

And for every Christmas they spent together after that, she always thanked the snow for cancelling her flight.

 **I know it's not Christmas anymore, but who cares? Leave a review!**


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